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Blick Art Materials unveils 100th anniversary mural

It started as a simple photo shoot for Gabe Moreno and Chris Dokolasa.

Now, the two will be immortalized in Galesburg for years to come.

On Tuesday, city officials unveiled the â€œFirst a Dreamâ€ mural on the south wall of the Discovery Deport Childrenâ€™s Museum, concluding months of preparation and painting. The mural, designed by artists Kathleen Scarboro and Kathleen Farrell, is being funded by Galesburg-based Blick Art Materials as part of the companyâ€™s 100th anniversary.

Prominently featured on the mural are Moreno, a Galesburg resident and Knox College student who is shown painting an empty canvas with a brush, and Dokolasa, a Galesburg High School art teacher who is looking on and instructing Moreno.

â€œI think they made me look pretty good up there,â€ said Moreno, an art student who studied at the high school with Dokolasa before attending Knox College.

The two were asked by Blick Art Materials to be a part of the mural. First, they needed to be photographed, which Moreno said took about 90 minutes.

From there, the artists used their photographs and many others to create the mural. John Polillo, executive vice president of operations for Blick Art Materials, said it was the companyâ€™s gift to Galesburg.